<Begin Segment 5>

[Ed. note: This transcript has been edited by the narrator]

VY: Okay, so let's talk about camp. So when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, you were probably about seven years old? Do you remember that time?

YY: I remember hearing the big news, and people were worried. And at school, we started having these drills. When we heard the bell, we had to all go outside and line up and (then ushered to a safe area).

VY: Well, so after that, like a couple of months later, you had to leave, right?

YY: (Yes, it was in) March that we had about a week to leave. And so we all had to help bring things down to our basement so that they could pack it away. And we had a neighbor across the street, he was a moving van company (owner, a) small one. And he offered to keep an eye out so that no one would break in. But that's about it, we couldn't take too many things, just one suitcase each.

VY: Do you remember what you brought with you? Was there a special toy that you picked?

YY: Well, it was right after Christmas, so I had my first doll. Because I never got, really, presents before, and so I got to bring her. [Laughs]

VY: Was there something you wanted to bring that you weren't allowed to bring?

YY: What was that?

VY: Was there something that you wanted to bring but were not allowed to bring?

YY: Oh, my skates, roller skates. But (my mom) said, "No, no, you can't take that because we don't really know where we're going." You had to take it downstairs.

VY: So you took everything, you packed up everything from the house and took it downstairs into the basement. And then what happened to your house while you were gone?

YY: We had a lawyer and he said he would rent it out for us.

VY: And did that rent money help pay for the mortgage on the house?

YY: Did we what?

VY: Did that money help pay for the house while you were gone? Did it help you pay your bills? Maybe you don't know, because you were very little. That's okay. Okay, so your parents owned this house in your brother's name. And while you were in camp, a lawyer took care of the house and rented it out. I want to talk a little bit about camp, but before I do, when you came back, was the house still there and was it still in your name, in your family's name?

YY: Well, the lawyer knew that we were coming back, so (he) gave them notice.

VY: The renters?

YY: To vacate. And so we had to give them time to find another place, and then my father had to clean it up before we could move back in. So our friend, who had their own house, offered to rent the basement where we could at least sleep, (it was a block away).

VY: So how long, do you remember how long you stayed in the basement before you moved into your house?

YY: Just a (month) after our renters moved out. My father cleaned and painted (...). Because my brothers were scattered everywhere, (...) my father, my mother and I (returned to S.F. in August 1945).

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2021 Densho. All Rights Reserved.